1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the management and control of traffic on a data communications network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of data communications networks in public and semi-public environments, such as in universities, allows significant number of users access to the network simultaneously. The simultaneous access to the network by large numbers of user can generate substantial volumes of data traffic, leading to congestion on the network. This congestion can have an adverse effect on the speed of data communication. For example, use of network bandwidth by members of the public may have a detrimental effect on the speed of access to the network by users requiring access to the network in the course of their employment.
In addition, users may be able to use different workstations (for instance at different physical locations), or connect to different network access points (for instance by means of a laptop at different docking stations or at different wireless network access points), for network access. Accordingly, techniques which attempt to restrict the bandwidth for a particular network access point (which may be a network port for a wired network or a wireless access point for a wireless network) may not entirely address this problem.
It would be desirable to manage the volume of data traffic generated on the network, and the rate at which such traffic may be communicated across the network, in a manner which takes into account the user, and in particular the status of the user, as specified by the network administrator.